Rodriguez Talks Retirement and Attracts Silence

Toward the end of his most challenging season in baseball, Alex Rodriguez told Bob Costas in a nationally syndicated radio interview that he might not play once his current 10-year contract expired after the 2010 season.

“I don’t really see myself playing past this contract,” Rodriguez said on “Costas on the Radio,” a weekly program that is heard on 120 stations, but not in New York. The interview was conducted toward the middle of September and began airing Sept. 16.

In the interview, Rodriguez is less specific at other moments, saying he might play beyond his current contract “but not way past it.”

Professional athletes often speak of retirement, only to keep playing for as long as they are capable of standing up. Nevertheless, Rodriguez’s remarks, coming toward the end of a season in which he struggled in the field and at the plate and was often booed by Yankees fans, seemed to take Costas by surprise.

“I thought the phone would be ringing off the hook the next day,” Costas said of an anticipated reaction by the news media that never came, perhaps because many reporters were unaware of what was said.

“I believe he was speaking honestly from the frame of mind that he was in at the time,” Costas said in a telephone interview yesterday. “He was very matter of fact and there was no anger in his voice. It was a tone of resignation. He said a lot of the joy of the game was gone, and even if had a reasonable shot at breaking records, he would walk away from the game.” Rodriguez will be 35 when his record-breaking $252 million contract expires.

“He has never said anything along those lines to me in all my conversations with him,” Scott Boras, Rodriguez’s agent, said in a telephone interview. “I just had a meeting with Alex, and he is very enthusiastic about next year and the rest of his career.”

He has 464 career home runs, and if he keeps playing until he is 40, or older, he would appear to have a good chance to set the career home run mark, regardless of the number Barry Bonds finally reaches. Still, Rodriguez told Costas that records would not affect his decision.

“To me, I have never been a guy that worries about numbers or has concerned himself with where I stand in the history books,” Rodriguez said. “I care about one thing, and that is winning, and that is it.”

Photo

Alex Rodriguez, who will be 35 when his current contract is up, says he cares about winning, and that is it.Credit
G. Paul Burnett/The New York Times

The Yankees have not won a World Series in Rodriguez’s three seasons in the Bronx, and he has increasingly struggled in postseason play, to the point where he batted eighth in the Yankees’ final game in October, when they were eliminated in the first round by Detroit.

In the weeks that followed, there was speculation that the Yankees might even look to trade Rodriguez. That speculation has died, but the issue of Rodriguez’s comfort level in New York has not. He seemed to acknowledge that point in the interview, telling Costas, “I think the demand that is put on a player like me is so much more then the generic everyday guy.”

WELLS STAYS IN TORONTO Vernon Wells and the Toronto Blue Jays agreed last night to a seven-year, $126 million contract extension through 2014.

“How can you not be happy?” Wells, an All-Star center fielder, said during a telephone interview with The Associated Press several hours before terms of the deal were completed. “Like I said, my family comes first. Obviously this gives me an opportunity to set my family up for a couple of generations. That’s the biggest part of this thing. And this gives me a chance to do something special in Toronto that hasn’t been done in a while.”

Wells hit .303 with 32 home runs and 106 runs batted in last season. He would have been eligible for free agency after next season. (AP)

RED SOX ADD DONNELLY The Red Sox acquired the former All-Star reliever Brendan Donnelly from the Los Angeles Angels yesterday and agreed to a contract with the left-hander J. C. Romero.

Boston sent the rookie left-hander Phil Seibel to the Angels for the 35-year-old Donnelly, who became expendable when the Angels signed the right-hander Justin Speier and the left-hander Darren Oliver. (AP)

BAGWELL RETIRES Jeff Bagwell’s 16-year career came to a close yesterday, ending his time as one of Houston’s best-loved athletes. Ultimately, his arthritic right shoulder forced him off the field.

“Physically, I cannot do it anymore,” the 38-year-old Bagwell said. “I wish I could. I wish I could continue to play and try to win a World Series in Houston.”

Bagwell retired as the Astros’ leader in home runs (449), R.B.I. (1,529), walks (1,401) and extra-base hits (969). He finished with a .297 career average. (AP)

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